French example offering us hope?

**Éanna** · 21/04/2002, 1:53 PM

from ireland.com French League in crisis after board resigns

19/04/02: France's national soccer league (LNF) board resigned en bloc today in a revolt against president Gerard Bourgoin less than two years after his election.

The 92 members said in a statement at the end of a stormy two-day meeting: "The board has decided to resign collectively to restore the LNF's credibility."

Bourgoin made many enemies among players, coaches and, more recently, the chairmen of the big clubs as he announced he would run as a candidate for a rightist party in the next general election.

Once known as France's "Chicken King", Bourgoin is also under investigation as part of an inquiry into his former business activities.

LNF sources said he resisted a call for his resignation on Thursday, prompting the board's decision to quit.

"The reason for this move is simple. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of negative feelings focussed on Bourgoin. We were going through a sort of credibility crisis," Girondins Bordeaux chairman Jean-Louis Triaud told Reuters.

"As we are about to renegotiate television rights and a new professional player's status, it was difficult to keep a president who was making things more and more difficult because of his personality," he added.

"In the interest of French soccer, Bourgoin had to resign and to obtain his resignation the only solution was to resign collectively. That's the choice we made".

The LNF will now be run by a caretaker committee led by ex-assistant treasurer Frederic Thiriez and including former LNF president Noel Le Graet, Olympique Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas and RC Lens chairman Gervais Martel.

Aulas and Martel were among Bourgoin's supporters when he was elected in July 2000 after narrowly defeating Le Graet by 45 votes to 43 in a contest fought over income from television rights.

Bourgoin, ex-vice-president of first division AJ Auxerre, promised more money would go to bigger clubs, arguing that the income would help elite sides keep their best players in France.

Le Graet, who was seeking a third four-year term, favoured an equitable share-out among all the clubs.

"The board took the right decision. The atmosphere was very difficult. Decisions were hazardous and the time had come to change", he said.

"My ambition is to reunite the French soccer family," Thiriez said. "All sides will be there and get a hearing".

Aulas said the new president could be elected when the LNF's general assembly meets on May 29 in Cannes. "We'll do our best to respect this deadline," he added.

Asked if he would run for the presidency, Aulas said it was "premature to talk about that".

Bourgoin answered the same question with: "I don't know.

"I'm not an easy man to control, maybe that's why the members of the board resigned,", he added. "I'm happy I managed to restore the board's unanimity".-Reuters